Interview with Sonia Pressman Fuentes for AuthorMePro

KY/AMP: Hello Sonia and thanks for being with us at AuthorMeProfessionals. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer. What inspired you to write your first book?

I am a lawyer, feminist and community activist, writer, and public speaker. I was born in Berlin, Germany, of Polish parents in 1928, with whom I fled Germany to escape the Holocaust. In the US, I played a historic role in the second wave of the women’s movement since I was a founder of NOW (National Organization for Women) and the first woman attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). I wanted to memorialize my life and my role in the women’s movement. That was one of the reasons I wrote a memoir. Another was that my parents had lived a lifestyle that due to the Holocaust was passing from view and I wanted to preserve their lives, too.

APKY/AMP: That’s really admirable. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

I write nonfiction. I have no ability to write in other genres.

APKY/AMP: You’ll never know until you try, Sonia. J Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I have written a memoir, not a novel. There is no particular message I want readers to grasp other than I would like them to know the truth about the incidents and period of history about which I wrote.

APKY/AMP: Now that’s a very valid reason right there! History has to be preserved. What have you had published to-date?

I have had one memoir published and many articles published. The articles have been published online and offline in all sorts of media—in magazines, newspapers, on websites, and in anthologies.

APKY/AMP: Okay. Do you have any advice for other writers?

If you’re driven to write, write. If you have a story to tell, tell it. Get whatever training is available to improve your writing and marketing skills. Marketing your book is at least as important as writing it.

APKY/AMP: Very valuable advice especially in this day and age of eBooks and ePublishing. Why should we buy your book?

My book is written with humor and is an enjoyable read. It tells about human situations and about a historic revolution in women’s rights. It has something for everyone. It is available in hard copy, soft cover, and on Kindle. The Kindle edition is available for $2.99 to make it accessible to all. Amazon.com has used copies available in excellent condition very reasonably.

APKY/AMP: I hope our interested readers will head straight to these sites. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

I’ve done all the marketing for my memoir and articles I write by myself as I was never able to connect with an agent I found satisfactory.

APKY/AMP: You’re not alone there. Maybe you could teach me how to market my books as well. J Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

I have not entered any writing competitions and have therefore not won or been shortlisted in any.

APKY/AMP: Well, maybe you’ll give it a try some day. Is there a special place that you prefer when you write?

I write at my desktop computer at my desk.

APKY/AMP: Right. I’m sometimes too lazy and handwrite my notes in bed! Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

I do not write under a pseudonym. That would destroy my purpose, which is to communicate the facts of my life and my parents’ lives to my readers.

APKY/AMP: It clearly would. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

I never found an agent I was happy with. I think an agent may very well be vital to an author’s success.

APKY/AMP: If only they were more accessible (sigh, sigh). What are you working on at the moment / next?

I am currently working on drafting a speech on the “Revolution in American Women’s Legal Rights and the Problems that Remain” to be delivered Oct. 24, 2012, at the Cornell University School of Law.

APKY/AMP: Great. I wish you all the best with it. Do you manage to write every day?

I certainly write something every day, even if it just email.

APKY/AMP: That’s an original to this question, Sonia. J What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

I’m certain that it exists. Sometimes, the words come easier than others. I have suffered from it. Sometimes, I deal with it by trying to write anyway hoping the words will come; at other times, I wait for a better time. It helps me get started if I have a deadline.

APKY/AMP: Right, the famous back to the wall for inspiration. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and off you are with it?

I write nonfiction. Generally, my writing is the result of my having had an experience that I feel compelled to reduce to paper.

APKY/AMP: Right again. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

The first person I show my writing to is a dear friend who lives in Montana who is a crack editor. I ask for her opinion, suggestions, and editing.

APKY/AMP: We all need such a friend. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

I am a skilled editor and frequently edit (but not professionally) other people’s writing, so, of course, I also do a lot of editing of my own work.

APKY/AMP: Perhaps you could edit some of mine? I’d be thrilled! Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

I write only on the computer. I have been an excellent typist since I studied typing in high school and I think while typing. I have a poor handwriting and writing by hand is much too slow for me.

APKY/AMP: Correct. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Since I write only nonfiction, everything I write is in the first person.

APKY/AMP: What do you like to read?

I generally read nonfiction. I like biography, autobiography and memoirs. Sometimes I read plays and sometimes I read outstanding fiction.

APKY/AMP: Okay. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

I enjoy socializing and conversing with friends, dining out, reading, giving speeches, and going to lectures, movies, concerts and theater. Sometimes, I travel. I work out with a trainer and attend a water exercise class regularly.

AMP: Quite a handful of hobbies. Where can we find out about you and your work?